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JICA Volunteers in Palau

◆Alii from Palau!

Futa Shimada
JICA Volunteer
Belau Modekngei School Science & Mathematics Teacher

(In our classroom)

　　　My day starts with the big ding-dong sound of the bell.After the bell, we sing the National Anthem of Palau, have a moment of silence, and then move on to do the “Radio Exercise”, which is a well-known Japanese exercise that goes with a certain tune. While these activities are held, some late students join us here and there. This is the typical morning scenery of my workplace, Belau Modekngei School.

　　　We are located in Ibobang in the State of Ngatpang, Palau. It has been one year and three months since I was dispatched to this private high school, Belau Modekngei School, as a Science and Mathematics teacher, and this daily scenery has become an every-morning routine for me.

　　　This is a small high school accommodating about 40 students in all, including local Palauan students as well as foreign students from China. The specialty of this school is that it has unique courses besides normal school studies, such as fishing, farming, stockbreeding and architecture; the technical skills that is necessary for Palauan daily life. I am in charge of teaching Algebra to the 9th and 10th graders and Physical Education (PE) to the whole school with my two counterparts.

(with my students)

　　　In mathematics class, I teach the class taking turns with my counterpart. We always discuss how we could better improve our teaching methods and understanding levels of the students. One of our activities is to put posters in the classrooms about how to add and subtract. You may be puzzled why high school students need such basic information, but in Palau, more than half of the 9th and 10th graders are still unconfident or unsure about the four basic operations of arithmetic. Every day we teach, and every day they forget. We teach again. This is our daily repetition. But in times when students understand what we explained or are trying hard to understand something, I feel rewarded of my daily activities. In the PE class, we play basketball, volleyball, yakiu (baseball) and softball. In addition, an important part of my work is to prepare for the high school tournament (although there are only 5 high schools in the whole country) by selecting the players, making schedules and leading them to the competition.

(Life in Ibobang)

　　　Most of the students in this high school live in a hut-like dormitory, where I live together with them. Breakfasts and lunches are served by a professional cook, but dinner is cooked by the students themselves. As they take turns, the quantity and quality of the food varies every day and sometimes hungry students end up in my dormitory looking for some food. After school in the day time, I play volleyball or basketball with students or go for a walk with another volunteer at school from US. Occasionally, some students visit my dormitory to ask me to help them with their studies. It impresses me seeing these students, who don’t even listen to me normally, struggling with numbers and trying to learn.

　　　I became a JICA volunteer as soon as I graduated university. For the past 1 year and 3 months, I have been continuing my work trying to help Palau in some way, but in reality, I am supported much more by my students, counterparts, colleagues and neighbors every day. For the remaining nine months, in order not to regret in the future, I will make the most of my precious time in Palau that will never return again.